Our weekly Friday Fantasy Baseball Feature, Buy Low/Sell High is back after an offseason layoff. When asked what this fantasy baseball feature did during the offseason, it said this, “Went up to the Adirondacks for some bass fishing with my friend, Clete. Well, one thing led to another and we fell in love.” Alrighty then! To get everyone on the same page, I like the Buy guys. I dislike the Sell guys. Now if Thames is in the Buy section (which he is!) and Lackey is in the Sell section (there too!) that doesn’t mean I recommend you trade Lackey for Thames. Everything’s relative, Einstein. Anyway, here’s some guys to buy and sell for the 1st week of the fantasy baseball season (start the games already!):

BUY

Alexi Casilla – Can run, can hit and at MI it pays to find out how much.

Russell Branyan – Every year a few guys rip up spring training and carry it into the regular season. Don’t pay a lot for this schmohawk, but he’s worth a flier for power.

David Price – I like him better than Wieters, because, in the end, Wieters is just a catcher, but Price is a pitcher that can still get 120 to 140 solid innings. Just bench him for a month. You don’t really need Emilio Bonifacio that bad. Unless you do.

David Freese – Now Glaus is not coming back until the All-Star Break. Freese is the word.

Jason Motte – Sure, LaRussa’s doing everything he can to not appoint Motte the closer, but the alcohol has to wear off eventually.

Josh Johnson – You’ll be poppin’ some blowers when you fire up a Big Johnson.

Chris Young – Something is seriously wrong with Tally. Might be hiding an injury. Maybe he’s just sick of getting things down for people off high shelves. You should hold tight for right now, but you’re not going to be able to start him.

Fernando Rodney – If you can actually get someone to trade you a decent piece for Rodney now that he’s the closer, you win. And by “decent piece,” I mean just about anyone.

Travis Hafner – How long you think Hafner’s going to be stinking up the joint with his melon head? Hafner’s head, “That was uncalled for.”

Nyjer Morgan – I like speed and nothing else guys as much as the next schmohawk, but Nyjer’s like a hot dog with no hot dog and no bun. Think relish in your hand. Who wants relish in their hand? I don’t. In deep leagues, sometimes you have to do what you have to do, but I’d try and do it elsewhere.

John Lackey – First sign of good news, I suggest you see if you can get someone decent for him in a trade. This might take embellishing good news like this, “After his MRI, Lackey said he felt so good he could go for another three of them.”

Love all the 2Bs on the buy side. But I have an unrelated question. I’m targeting Votto in my draft (due to a paucity of 3B and the distribution of keepers, I’m going to concentrate on 3B/OF first). What’s the earliest round you’d considering taking Votto? I’m thinking Round 7 (which in regular drafts is around Rounds 9-10) but I’m not sure he’ll be there. Can I take him earlier than that, say 5 or 6?

I was thinking about Casilla for a couple of days now. I wasn’t too impressed last year but on your recommendation, Francoeur can go back on waivers. Let’s see if Casilla can be more interesting than Polanco and I’ll leave Polanco on the bench just in case things don’t work out.

Devine is killing me right now. He is not going to Doc. Freeze till April 8th to figure out if he will be out 2 weeks or the entire season. Now I have to sit on him although the waiver wire is kinda scare now that managers are choosing closers. Ray just got dropped though…

@Mowses: Of course you do it but I’m not sure what kind of idiot you’re dealing with. Why would anyone give up Price for Dukes? Does this guy really need a starting OF so bad that he’ll take a project who may not even start over David Price? Color me confused.

Given all the potentially useful 2Bers with SBs, I’m kind of wishing I hadn’t drafted Brandon Phillips in the 3rd. Ah, well. I’m heavily Cincy-invested this year, for what that’s worth.

@JR: This is 12-team? I’d say you wait until the other name 1Bers are gone, then make your move. On my sheet, there’s a large drop-off after Votto (who I love)(and own). He fell to the 10th in my league, but then again, this is the same league where someone drafted Sandoval to play 1B instead of C.

In the 5th in a 12-team there are likely too many other more interesting players available (McLouth!) to justify the reach. But if every other 1Ber is gone — basically, from Pujols through Howard to AGonzo — then sure, pull the trigger. Better to have the team you want than to be able to run around after the draft saying, “I didn’t reach for a single guy! Isn’t that right, My New First Baseman Conor Jackson?”

@Baron Von Vulturewins: WORD baron…. I have votto and bruce in my league. I snagged votto in the 5th round, call me crazy, but since i drafted near the end the 5th was about the same as me taking him in the 6th, which i was for sure doing and I wanted him that bad…. I am an indians fan, and i have a couple reds on my team LOL. Cincy is putting together a nice crew! I debated the same thing with Phillips, coulda took him in the 3rd! But i took markakis/kemp back to back instead of phillips/ and markakis or kemp… I ended up with Cano in the 14th? I say thats some value there… i guess people were tired of his poor april, avilies in the 8th round though before cano and kendrick?

@grey: per PEDS, I stocked my bench pantry with closers and relievers who should vulture saves. I saw above that you were in favor of rotating MIs to find a hot hand. Does this mean I should use a bench spot for a second MI or just not be afraid to use a carousel of MI off the waiver wire?

@Baron Von Vulturewins: Must be something about the color red this year. As I am preparing for Saturday’s draft I realize I like a lot of Philly, oh ok burgundy, Cincy, and Angels. I am resisting the temptation of some Sawx players due to emotion as the season wears on.
Wait a minute let me take off my sunglasses I bought on Yawkey Way – Yep a couple of ’em still look pretty good.

@Freak: I had him last season. His average destroyed that category for me. & his power production is hit or miss. If I owned him this season I would bench him and if he starts to heat up then start him

@Freak, @Nick: I am pretty sure he’s talking about the Pitcher version of Chris Young. Not Rice Krispie.

Does anyone else get in that mode in the draft where despite all the risks you know about a player, you become drunk on their former excellence and pull the trigger? (Chris Young, Carpenter, Thome, Posada, Ortiz)

OKay, lookin at that list – Chris Young does not belong, but i give him credit for sparking this thought for me.

Question: Drop Daniel Murphy for Burriss? I am light on speed. I am wondering how many starts I would give burriss since I have Hardy and Uggla locking down SS & 2B. Murphy gives me a platoon option in the OF.

@Falcon: haha I just noticed it in Grey’s post, that makes more sense. Anyways I still don’t like Young but at this point your not getting anything for him in a trade so just hold him. How many people are in your league that your relying on him? Thats rough.

@Falcon: & I’m a Met fan and like Murphy right now in deep leagues since he hits a nice average and will get you some runs. Also Tatis might be moving into 2nd over Castillo (who I hate) which would then put Murphy in left. You must have a deep league if your considering Burriss

@Freak – Young has always stuggled in the spring and been just fine in the regular season. His ERA last year was 4.00 and two years ago was 5.14. In addition, you have to remember that spring ERAs may not tell the whole story because pitchers are playing weaker defenses. For example, I read one of Young’s starts was completely botched by errors.

I would hold off until he gets to his normal and spaceious park before making a decision on him. However, if you can get someone with less risk and equal talent, go for it.

votto went in the late 70s in our draft (to me). i love production guys who’s names don’t quite ring out yet. gonna have a big year.

also noticed motte on the buy list, a day after flunking the closer report. for what it’s worth, i think he is a buy, and i think he’s got great skills and will net 20 easy saves with an upside of 30. plus his other numbers are great too. can’t try to read larussa too closely.

@BSA: Yeah, I’m generally of the mind that it’s better to get the best hitter from four different teams than the four best hitters from one team. (See this year: Texas Rangers). That said, Phillips seemed slightly undervalued to me, in a year light on quality 2B, Votto seemed similarly bargain-priced, and you know I gots to love me some Bruce. In the 7th, my dilemma was Bruce or Dye: Heart said Bruce, head said Dye (since Dye’s year last year was basically Bruce’s extreme upside, minus steals, and I’m trying to wean myself off the rookie-love).

Went with the heart. Took Bruce. And Dye was still there on the backswing. So I took him too.

Don’t be afraid to load up on one team, though. One homer in my league last year piled his plate with Sox (Youk, Pedroia, Lester) and that worked out pretty well for him. At least once he found the fortitude to euthanize Clay Buchholz.

@Falcon: If Murphy is not starting for you, drop him for Burriss. In Yahoo! Emmanuel qualifies at ss/2b, and he’ll be a nice speed fix in those long cold weeks when JJ Hardy is hanging oh-fers on you like leis on a Hawaiian tourist.

@Falcon: Totally. It’s the OMG-I’ll-Have-Blankety-Blank-On-My-Team! This syndrome kept guys drafting a) Scott Rolen and b) Eric Chavez long past their sell-by dates. This year’s main offender: David Ortiz. He may rebound to something like 35-110, but in reality, given the risks, no sane person should be rostering him. Still–Big Papi! Gotta… hit… draft… button….

@Tony: Cano in 14 is perfectly sweet. I’m not a huge Markako/Kemp fan personally, so Phillips’ potentially 30-30 in the infield appealed to me more than either of their potential blahtastic 20-20 seasons. But I could have had Manny in that spot, who’s hitting like .686 in spring training. He would look pretty good in my OF right now.

@sean: I’d drop Nunez for Lyon. That way, you’re pretty much guaranteed of the Tigers closer.

I could use some power in my 20 team league but am not sure if I can spare anyone for Branyan. Possible drops are Leo Nunez, Brandon Lyon (I have Broxton and K. Wood), James McDonald, Seth Smith, Fontenot and Scott Lewis. Or should I just wait for Yahoo to place Lackey on the DL?

Our league counts singles, doubles, triples, etc 10 hitting stats total. So a guy like Kemp/Markakis that bat .300 are more appealing to me than Phillips .270 average at 2B even tho he has hit 30/30 one year I dont see him doing it again, 25/25 sure, 30/30 no.

I like having a strong OF and with 3 OF positions in my league plus 3 bench spots, there’s plenty of room. I just saw 2B as really deep, and even tho phillips is a stud i am happy with cano in the 14th there.

@Grey: thanks to the espn league that hippo and stevo got me in on,i believe we`ve now talkedour yahoo keeper league guys into 4of`s,only 10 teams because its an auction draft need to be present for(made special considerations for stevo),draft is saturday night at 7,have to hold off on the cocktails a bit early,but again thanks to this site,ive got my low budget players targeted,

@Pops: re: Chris Young taking until May to get his arm strength… unfortunately, I just don’t see it. I went and looked at his #s between 2006-2008, and only in 2007 did he hit his stride in May. And, in that case, it there appears to be a much stronger correlation with him pitching home/away than actually getting stronger over his first 8-10 starts. In 2006 he had a great June (4 ER, 34 K in 31 IP), but then crapped all sorts of beds that July. So, who knows – but I’m not convinced on the stronger-in-May thing.

@Grey: First, love the site. The writing is very entertaining, and since most of us are in this for fun, the more entertainment the better.

I have Spilborghs as a reserve OF in my league, where we have a limited bench. Need to know how much he’s going to play now that the Rockies are going to keep Fowler. Have to assume Fowler’s going to get decent playing time. Could he cut into Smith’s PT more than Spilborghs’? Or should I just assume that Spilborghs is going to lose 1/3 of his PT with Fowler there (which means I should toss him aside)? And is/was Spilborghs the Colorado lead-off guy? Thanks.

yeah i traded for him last year 1 start befor albert tattooed baseball seams on his face,,never got going after that and spring stats dont mean much,unless they are that bad,plus he plays on a pathetic team,,im not buying,

@Trip Wildhack: Thanks, man. Appreciate it. Here’s what I said the other day in the comments, “(Fowler) Might cut into both (Smith and Spilborghs). Smith against righties. Spilborghs to sit against some. Hawpe could sit against some lefties. Stewart will see some time.” I still see Spilborghs getting about 400 ABs if he stays healthy and if Fowler doesn’t explode into greatness immediately.

oh and grey,liove the part about motte,saying LaRussa`s alcohol has to wear off,i hope so soon,counting on saves from motte,glad i didnt go with dukes,ha i took milton bradley instead,should be fine when healthy

@Trip Wildhack: i also have spilbourghs,he`s going to be a 20-20 guy then 20-30,then 20-15,now loosing playing time,barring a 20 game winning streak 2 years ago,no wander they suck,,im hoping fowler or smith struggle putting ab`s closer to 450+,could always pick up andru jones,now batting 4th against lefties in texas,platoon with blaylock

@jollie fingers: In early May, Dukes throws a rosin bag and a hissy fit at Manny Acta in the dugout after he’s called to pinch hit while he’s texting his latest seventeen year old girlfriend. You also heard it here first!

Ichiro Suzuki will be placed on the disabled list, and is expected to miss the first week of the season, after doctors determined that he suffered a bleeding ulcer.
Ichiro began complaining of fatigue earlier this week and missed four straight games before the Mariners called on a doctor. It’ll be the first DL stint of his MLB career. “It was a very difficult decision to place Ichiro on the disabled list,” GM Jack Zduriencik said, “especially since we know what a fierce competitor he is, and how important it is to him to help the team.” The move is retroactive to March 31, so he’ll be eligible to return on April 15. Chris Burke and Wladimir Balentien should fill in.

Brian Wilson (finger) tossed a bullpen session Thursday and is expected to be available on Friday night.
Wilson hasn’t pitched in an exhibition game in nine days because of an infected middle finger on his throwing hand, but looked strong in the short workout. “With the way he threw today, there’s no worry about him being ready for Opening Day,” manager Bruce Bochy said.

oh wow. The importance of spelling. I just did a google search for Bryan Bixler to doublecheck that *Brian* was going to stay in Indianapolis long enough for me to safely drop him for Hafner (on SPRH), and the first hit was an LA Times article about a guy with anorexia that started off with “Bryan Bixler is dying”

I was really confused for a second

Anyway, it never crossed my mind that the Indians would let that fool start again. I’m really hoping that his debridement didn’t really do anything, because the Pronk of ’08 would be an amazing FA pickup. They say the wind was blowing out when he hit at least 1 of his 2 spring homers

Now seems to be a good time to buy sell on Dukes, especially in keepers. A hot spring should not alter the nats long term plans. Austin Kearns has proven he is not very durable or very good. If Washington is going to go anywhere in the next 3 years, they need to give Milledge and Dukes 500+ AB this year. Besides, does anyone really expect Nick Johnson to stay healthy? Adam Dunn will spend the majority of 2009 butching balls at 1B. Dukes has the skill set to be a 30/25 guy with a high OPS. He could also strangle a few ex-gf. He’ll be playing every day by early May. I say lowball his owner and reap the benefits.

Figured I’d chime in cause I thought this was a little extreme – Peter Gammons thinks that Josh Johnson will win the Cy Young this year. I like the idea of buying him, but a Cy Young that’s a little nuts. Johan still pitches in the NL right?